- Chinese regulators on Thursday said they had finalized the first-of-its-kind rules for generative artificial intelligence to strengthen oversight of the fast-growing technology.
- The powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it was working with several other regulators to draft the new regulation, which will go into effect on August 15.
- Generative AI is a rapidly growing area of technology in which artificial intelligence services can generate content such as text or images.
China’s artificial intelligence
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Chinese regulators on Thursday finalized the first-of-its-kind rules for generative artificial intelligence as the country looks to step up oversight of the fast-growing tech.
The powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it was working with several other regulators to draft the new regulation, which will go into effect on August 15.
Generative AI is a rapidly growing area of technology in which artificial intelligence services can generate content such as text or images. ChatGPT, developed by the US company OpenAI, is the most famous example and allows users to address the chatbot and get answers to queries.
These services are based on huge amounts of data. However, ChatGPT’s success has unleashed a wave of competing services, raising concern among global regulators about the potential risks associated with the technology.
Chinese tech giants have jumped on the bandwagon, announcing plans and launching their own generative AI services.
But China, which tightly controls the domestic Internet through censorship and regulation, is keeping a close eye on AI development. Chinese regulators are concerned about the potential of these services to generate content that may conflict with Beijing’s views or ideology.
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This is partly why Chinese tech companies have been reluctant to launch their ChatGPT-like services. Instead of comprehensive services that are generally available to the public, Chinese companies have focused their technology on business and limited uses.
For example, this month Alibaba launched an artificial intelligence tool called Tongyi Wanxiang that can generate images from prompts. However, it is only available to enterprise customers for beta testing.
However, the rules of the CAC provide tech giants with a framework within which to work in relation to the technology.
The rules only apply to generative AI services that are available to the general public and not to those that are developed in research institutions.
Generative AI services must be licensed to operate, the CAC said.
If a Generative AI service provider finds “illegal” content, they should take action to stop generating that content, improve the algorithm, and then report the material to the appropriate authority.
Providers of these services are required to conduct security assessments of their product and ensure that user information is secure.
Generative AI services in China must also adhere to the “core values of socialism,” the CAC said.
Still, regulators are trying to strike a balance by making China a leader in artificial intelligence while keeping a close eye on its development.
The rules of the CAC state that the regulation aims to promote innovative applications of generative AI and to support the development of related infrastructure such as semiconductors.